** This thread discusses the Content article:
Rose Bowl Preview- USC v Penn State **
[i]This is the eighth in a series of ten bowl previews, I ranked the top ten here.
This year’s Rose Bowl has its traditional matchup, Big Ten Champion Penn State and Pac-10 Champion USC.  Both teams were in the national title hunt late in the season, so this game has great teams and star power.  Speculation always surrounds Penn State head coach Joe Paterno and how much longer he will remain in coaching.  Speculation also surrounds whether Pete Carroll will make a move back to the NFL, as he has successfully reasserted USC as a dominant national power, and a premier destination for top-level high school talent in the recruiting scene.  Read on for my prediction…
Penn State is a field goal away from being in the National Title game.  While a lot of people will argue this is ‘paying for the past sins of Ohio State’, it might be a good thing for the Big Ten.  If Penn State made it three blowouts in a row in the BCS Championship game, it would really be out of hand.  That doesn’t mean I think Penn State is bad, because I think they are good.  Their offensive coordinator, Galen Hall, is a former Gator head coach.  So I want to give them some props.  However, ‘Spread HD’ is about the worst name for an offense, ever.  That, and ‘WildCat’.  They should be fairly excited about winning the Big Ten and going to the Rose Bowl, and getting a chance to really prove themselves (and their league) against a big-time out of conference opponent.  Although it should be noted Penn State beat Oregon State, but the ‘cross country’ factor and the ‘home/away’ factor can’t be overlooked, so I’m not going to base my whole analysis on one game.  Conversely, just because USC beat Ohio State by a larger margin than Penn State beat the Buckeyes, I’m not going to penalize Penn State.  Also, as you know, I feel bowl games are an entirely different thing than picking regular season games.  The mindset of a team during preparation, and once arriving at the bowl site, are extremely important.  Joe Paterno should have his boys ready, I don’t think the Rose Bowl is a let down for his team- they haven’t been there in a little while, and it’s not as if the disappointing Iowa loss happened last week.
As far as USC is concerned, I’ve heard an opinion, nationally, that they will not be into this game, as they played in it the last two years, and were again left out of the BCS Championship game.  That they will be complacent and disappointed, and not have anything to prove.  I disagree with that assessment, as I feel the same thing could have been said about last year’s Rose Bowl.  That Illinois team was inferior to this opponent, but still Pete Carroll had his team prepared.  His record, like Urban Meyer’s, is fantastic in big games with extra preparation time.  Whatever he does to get it done, he knows what he’s doing in motivating these college kids.  I think they will be hyped up for this game as well, which is why it is so high in my ranking of the bowls- both teams should at least come ready to play, and that is a rarity throughout the bowl season.  USC’s defense has put up (or, more correctly, prevented its opponents from putting up) fantastic numbers this year.  Much has been made of the NFL prospects on that side of the ball, and they will have their hands full in stopping the Penn State offense.  That being said, the Pac-10 is known as an offensive league, and I don’t think anything Penn State does, schematically, will be all that wild compared to what they see, week in and week out.  USC’s offense is considered the weakness of the team, but has put up some pretty good numbers of its own. They have 3 different players with over 600 yards rushing, and Mark Sanchez completes 64% of his passes (67% if you consider 10 of his passes were complete to guys wearing the wrong color uniform).  In fact, the team numbers aren’t far behind those of Penn State, which is shocking given the national hype afforded Penn State’s offense.  It is also no small thing that USC’s offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian has taken the Washington head coaching gig, and receivers coach John Morton will take over play-calling duties for USC.  A lot of other staff members, including strength coaches and the ‘director of football operations’ have followed Sarkisian to USC.  So these things, taken in aggregate, could benefit the Nittany Lions in this game.
I just don’t see Penn State winning this game.  USC has the history, under Pete Carroll, of stepping up in these situations, and the staff departures are happening early enough for the Trojans to adjust.  USC just has too much talent, and, as I’ve already stated, will not be caught overlooking this game.  I’ll take
USC, 34-17, as I think they will again make a statement that they should be included in the BCS Championship picture.
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